Restored “Metropolis” is back in town

Shortly after its 1927 premiere in Weimar Germany, Fritz Lang’s dense but visionary science-fiction fable “Metropolis” was drastically cut by roughly 40% of its running time in an effort to broaden its audience appeal and earn back the cost of what at the time was the most expensive movie Germany had ever produced.

But over the years, so much additional footage was lost, damaged or recut and mutilated that a bitter and despairing Lang declared that his most famous film “had ceased to exist.” Film scholars dismissed periodic attempts at restoration as only partially successful at best, and “Metropolis” gradually became better known to the general movie-going public as a ghostly legend, embellished with a few striking production photos, more than a vibrant “moving picture” theatrical experience.

But then–astoundingly–in early 2008, a virtually complete 16mm print was discovered languishing in an Argentinian film archive. For less than the cost of an average TV series episode, German film technicians repaired and restored the elements as best they could, recording a new soundtrack of the original symphonic score composed especially for the film.

The full-length “Metropolis” had its long-overdue return engagement at a handful of sold-out film festival screenings, including one earlier this year in Los Angeles. But now the rest of LA’s filmgoing community will have its chance to see the film that influenced “Blade Runner” and countless other science-fiction classics when “Metropolis” opens on Friday, May 14 at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles.

Silent movie and science-fiction buffs will need no further prompting to start queuing up for tickets. But for the rest of us, visit the Kino International website for the full background of this fascinating film and the torturous path its history has taken. And if you need any additional encouragement, check out the Metropolis trailer.

Posted 5-13-10